Episode · The Book Review · 2023-11-28
Books mentioned on 10 Best Books of 2023
Gilbert Cruz recommended The Fraud by Zadie Smith, Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo, Fire Weather by John Vaillant, Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista, and Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen, and discussed Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett and Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv. MJ Franklin recommended Big Swiss by Jen Beagin. Also mentioned: Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; by William Craft and others, Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, Day by Michael Cunningham, The Rigor of Angels by William Egginton, Lies and Sorcery by Elsa Morante, and Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Fraud
The Fraud by Zadie Smith is a rich historical novel set in Victorian London during the era of Charles Dickens, centering around the famous Tichborne claimant case and themes of complicity and imposture.
Recommended“in fiction we have eastbound by m deenal translated from the French by Jessica Moore the fraud by Zade Smith the beasting by Paul Murray Chain Gang Allstars by nanak Kwame AJ Brena and Northwoods by Daniel Mason”
Where to get it
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Chain Gang All Stars
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is a gripping futuristic dystopian novel that explores institutionalized violence and the American prison-industrial complex through a high-stakes gladiatorial combat program.
Recommended“in fiction we have eastbound by m deenal translated from the French by Jessica Moore the fraud by Zade Smith the beasting by Paul Murray Chain Gang Allstars by nanak Kwame AJ Brena and Northwoods by Daniel Mason”
Where to get it
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The Bee Sting
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray is a contemporary novel exploring the complex dynamics of an Irish family facing financial ruin and hidden secrets.
Recommended“in fiction we have eastbound by m deenal translated from the French by Jessica Moore the fraud by Zade Smith the beasting by Paul Murray Chain Gang Allstars by nanak Kwame AJ Brena and Northwoods by Daniel Mason”
Where to get it
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Master Slave Husband Wife
Ilyon Woo's Master Slave Husband Wife tells the meticulously researched true story of Ellen and William Craft, an enslaved couple who engineered a daring escape to freedom.
Recommended“in non-fiction we have fire weather a true story from a hotter World by John Valiant Master Slave husband wife an Epic Journey From Slavery to Freedom by Il Yan”
Where to get it
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Fire Weather
Fire Weather by John Vaillant is a harrowing work of narrative non-fiction that tells the true story of the massive 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire against the backdrop of a changing, hotter world.
Recommended“in non-fiction we have fire weather a true story from a hotter World by John Valiant Master Slave husband wife an Epic Journey From Slavery to Freedom by Il Yan”
Where to get it
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Some People Need Killing
Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista is a harrowing non-fiction memoir documenting the brutal extrajudicial drug war in the Philippines through the eyes of an investigative journalist.
Recommended“wo some people need killing A Memoir of murder in my country by Patricia Evangelista”
Where to get it
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Best Minds
Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen is a deeply moving work of narrative nonfiction that investigates a tragic childhood friendship, severe mental illness, and the complex failures of institutional and societal support systems.
Recommended“the best Minds A Story of Friendship Madness and the tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen and Bottoms Up in the devil ass a journey through the Deep state by Carrie Howley”
Where to get it
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Truth & Beauty
Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett is a deeply moving memoir published in 2004 that chronicles the complex, enduring friendship between the author and the late poet Lucy Grealy.
Discussed“I think of Truth and Beauty by Anne patchet which is about a lost friendship between women”
Where to get it
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Strangers to Ourselves
Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv is a critically acclaimed exploration of mental illness and personal identity that examines real-life case studies.
Discussed“last year one of our 10 best books of the year was a book called strangers to ourselves by Rachel Aviv which was a series of kind of case studies of mental illness”
Where to get it
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Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom;
Discussed“they joined the Abolitionist speaker circuit and they also told their own story in a book called Running 1,000 miles for Freedom which Ilan wo first encountered decades ago as a graduate student”
Where to get it
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Birnam Wood
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton is a gripping literary thriller set in modern-day New Zealand that follows an undercover eco-activist guerrilla gardening group that clashes with an American tech billionaire over a disputed plot of land.
Recommended“had we been able to include more than 10 books on the list I would have loved to see Burnham Wood by Elanor Katen”
Where to get it
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Kairos
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck is a nuanced and complex novel translated by Michael Hofmann that explores a turbulent, intense relationship against the backdrop of a collapsing East Germany.
Recommended“the second book also by a non-american author is named chyros it's by a German novelist named Jenny erpenbeck”
Where to get it
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Day
Day by Michael Cunningham is a poignant novel that unfolds across three successive Aprils—2019, 2020, and 2021—capturing the profound shifts in a family's life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recommended“Day by Michael Cunningham this is a novel that unfolds in three aprils April 2019 April 2020 and April 2021”
Where to get it
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The Rigor of Angels
The Rigor of Angels by William Egginton is an ingenious group biography and philosophical exploration that examines the ultimate nature of reality by weaving together the lives and ideas of Jorge Luis Borges, Werner Heisenberg, and Immanuel Kant.
Recommended“it's called the rigor of Angels by William eggington this book is by a Humanity scholar at Johns Hopkins and it's quite original and ingenious”
Where to get it
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Lies and Sorcery
Lies and Sorcery is a sweeping, monumental mid-century Italian masterpiece by Elsa Morante that explores deep psychological depths, complex family dynamics, and romantic obsession across generations in Southern Italy.
Recommended“I am so excited to tell everyone to read this 800 page Saga lies and sorcery by Elsa marante”
Where to get it
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Big Swiss
Big Swiss is a darkly comic and unconventional novel by Jen Beagin that follows a transcriber for a sex therapist who becomes infatuated with one of the clients.
Recommended“but the other book I wanted to talk about is Big Swiss by Jen Bean”
Where to get it
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Loved and Missed
Loved and Missed is a poignant and emotionally resonant novel by Susie Boyt that explores complex themes of motherhood, grief, custody, and female relationships.
Recommended“I am very excited to talk to you about loved and missed by Susie boy this is something if you like the beasting”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (5) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“noname alj BR is also the author of Friday black A Story collection that came out I think 5 years ago in 2018”
“and I hav't even rent Skippy dies which is what I think that most people know Paul Murray for”
“she's also written the answers nobody is ever missing and Pew this book to me was just indisputably I would say a hugely ambitious work of fiction”
“she's also written the answers nobody is ever missing and Pew this book to me was just indisputably I would say a hugely ambitious work of fiction”
“she's also written the answers nobody is ever missing and Pew this book to me was just indisputably I would say a hugely ambitious work of fiction”